ZELP launches wearable methane tracker for livestock

ZELP has commercially released ZELP Sense, a wearable device designed to measure methane emissions from individual cows in real farm settings. The company says the system could help farmers, researchers and governments collect lower-cost emissions data, validate methane-reduction tools and support reporting and regulation.

Why it matters: - Methane is a major near-term driver of warming because it is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years. - Livestock digestion accounts for 70 percent of agricultural methane emissions, making animal-level measurement a key step for mitigation efforts. - ZELP Sense is designed to make emissions data easier to gather outside controlled facilities, where current tools are often too costly or operationally complex.

What happened: - ZELP commercially released ZELP Sense, a wearable device for continuous methane measurement from individual cows in real-world farm settings. - The launch took place on Aug. 26, 2026, in London. - The system combines a wearable device, automated data transfer and a mobile-optimized web app called ZELP Insight. - ZELP says the product is intended for companies, researchers, governments and farmers that need real-world emissions data at scale.

The details: - ZELP Sense collects emissions-related data from close to the cow’s nostrils and processes the data with ZELP’s proprietary algorithms. - ZELP Insight delivers results in grams per day. - The device has been developed and tested through more than 20,000 hours of real-world use. - Initial evaluation trials indicated the device can produce emission estimates with comparable reliability to existing accepted approaches. - The wearable includes a comfortable, breathable headpiece, a flexible nosepiece and a gas-sensing unit. - The device also includes a breakaway safety mechanism so it can detach if caught. - During development and testing, cattle typically showed only a brief behavioral response when fitted, then returned to normal behavior. - More information is available on ZELP’s website.

Between the lines: - The launch targets a core problem in livestock climate work: measurement has been a bottleneck for validating feed additives, vaccines, breeding programs and other methane-reduction strategies. - ZELP is positioning ZELP Sense as a field tool for Scope 3 emissions measurement, large-scale inventories and verification of mitigation claims. - The company’s pitch is that real-world measurement can move methane solutions faster by reducing the time and cost needed to test them in farm conditions. - ZELP Sense was developed with co-funding from the Global Methane Hub’s Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, which points to broader ecosystem backing for measurement infrastructure. - Hayden Montgomery of the Global Methane Hub called the launch an important milestone and said effective measurement is foundational to progress.

What's next: - ZELP says partners are already interested in using the system to measure Scope 3 emissions and run large-scale inventory programs. - The company also expects the device to help accelerate development of methane-mitigating feed additives and vaccines. - Governments, companies and researchers may use the device to improve emission factors, support selective breeding and generate data for reporting, incentives and regulation. - ZELP says organizations can also use the platform to test, iterate and verify methane-mitigation tools in field conditions.

The bottom line: - ZELP is betting that cheaper, easier animal-level methane measurement can unlock faster progress on livestock climate tools and make real-world emissions data more usable at scale.